Other Side
by lilyleia78
Summary: A conversation with Kira enriches Adam's perception on someone he thought he already knew well.  Gen fic


"Adam, you have to hurry. Dr. O's supposed to call us after school, and it's fifteen after four already," Kira reminded the black ranger for the third time.

Adam glanced over at his new teammate as he pulled the car up the long drive leading to the enormous mansion the Overdrive Team, and now the veteran rangers temporarily replacing them, used as a base of operations. "Yeah, but Tommy's not exactly known for his punctuality."

Kira flashed him a grin that Adam was slowly learning meant trouble. Usually not for him though, so he still liked it. "I know, which is why I told him to call around 4:00"

Adam punched the break rather more forcefully than he'd intended, surprised laughter robbing him of his characteristic grace. "So he should actually be calling in another fifteen minutes or so. Very smart, Kira, very smart."

Kira grinned as she hopped out of the car, "I know. I always was the brains of the operation. I can't believe your old team didn't start using that trick years ago."

Adam smiled but shrugged over the top of the car once he'd gotten out himself. "He's our friend, you take the annoying little quirks along with the good stuff."

"Annoying little quirks?" Kira asked, face lighting up with interest. "And what annoying little quirks does Dr. O have? Aside from the tardiness, of course."

Adam studied his companion thoughtfully, using the distraction of greeting the rest of the team as an excuse to ignore the question for the moment. He wasn't sure he should be shattering any illusions Kira may have been harboring about her former teacher and mentor. She may have been his teammate now, and three years past high school, but it seemed…disloyal somehow to the man who'd had his back more times than he could remember. He answered the question by asking one of his own. "Well, you know, surely you've noticed a few things."

"Are you kidding me? He's smart and calm and he always knows the right thing to say." She paused as if surprised by what was coming out of her mouth. "Those aren't exactly bad things, huh. He does try to keep us out of trouble. Which can be annoying," she ventured doubtfully.

IWow,/I Adam thought to himself, ITommy is her Zordon./I

His Tommy - perpetually late, teller of truly horrid jokes, hopeless romantic - Tommy Oliver was somebody's Zordon. And not just anybody either, but Kira. Smart, tough, talented Kira looked up to and admired her 'Dr. O' every bit as much as he respected his lost mentor.

Adam wondered if Tommy even knew. He didn't envy him the position if he did. It was hard enough to be the deloldest/del most experienced veteran of the group: he couldn't imagine being their mentor as well. Maybe it would be doing Tommy a favor to remind Kira that Dr. O was only human.

"What," Kira prompted teasingly, "can't remember any of Dr. O's many flaws?"

Adam laughed and shrugged. "What kind of friend would I be if I didn't make an honest attempt to tell a few embarrassing stories about one of my best friends in front of his student?"

Kira grinned in return, and Adam noticed the other rangers creeping in closer. Kira was obviously not the only one curious about the legendary (Adam couldn't help but laugh to himself whenever someone used the word in reference to his old friend) Tommy Oliver.

"Did Tommy tell you how he got interested in paleontology?" Adam asked instead.

Kira shook her head, eyes solemn, but the smile still firmly in place. "Do tell."

Several minutes later….

"And then," Adam said, laughter threatening to render his words and story unintelligible, "after he climbed on top of the bones and rode the dinosaur like it was a wild bull and he was a cowboy at a rodeo Tommy said 'I have bone to pick with you' and pulled a bone from it's neck, making the whole thing collapse. With him still on top of it."

Kira shook her head in disbelief. "Dr. O? A cowboy? That's... No, there are no words to describe that."

Adam struggled to get himself back under control. "Actually, to me a cowboy makes more sense for Tommy than a professor. You can only imagine the laughs we all got when he told us he was giving up racing to pursue a degree in paleontology. Paleontology! Tommy Oliver - a stodgy professor. Jason even bought him one of those jackets with the leather patches on the elbows."

The other rangers laughed uproariously, their merriment filling the (super awesome) hang out of the Operation Overdrive rangers. Kira, however, was staring at him with something like horrified fascination - like she wasn't sure if she should laugh as well or defend her teacher's (mentor's, Adam reminded himself) impugned honor.

Zordon, Adam reminded himself, do not insult Zordon. "He did good though. Racing isn't really about changing the world or making it a better place. And just look at all he's accomplished since then."

"Like assembling and awesome ranger team in Reefside," Tori said, bumping Kira affectionately with her shoulder.

Kira rolled her eyes, but the ringing of the phone cut off any response she may have wanted to make. Adam didn't miss the nerves flitting across her face. It couldn't be easy to have your mentor simultaneously both more and less accessible than a disembodied head. Three years later, Dr. O's opinion still obviously meant a lot to the yellow ranger.

"Hey, Kira," he said, handing her the still ringing phone, "Great job out there today. Dr. O will be proud."/cut


End file.
